If you're reading this topic, I'm assuming you've played Mass Effect, including 3. Therefore, I will be freely spoiling events from that game, including the ending.

It's been 25 years since Shepard defeated the Reapers. Cerberus has been a broken shell of itself since, due in no small part to the death of the Illusive Man as well as the destruction of their main base. Since then, the remaining members of the group have been rebuilding. There have been some changes, however. Due to the lack of members, Cerberus has been recruiting aliens, although these alien members are constantly watched in case they try to rebel. In addition, the shift in leadership has lead to a shift of their goal. Instead of focusing on human supremacy, the group is now only focused on making themselves in ultimate power.

Of course, when there is a rise in a criminal element, there is also a need to combat that element. That is where the Spectres come in. However, due to issues with Spectres using their authority for ill, such as Saren and Tela Vasir, The Council has reworked the Spectre system. Thanks to the galaxy uniting to defeat the Reaper threat, The Council does not have any restrictions on species that can be Spectres, as long as they prove their worth. However, there are more limits on Spectre's actions. Unless given explicit direction from the Council, each Spectre is assigned one planet to keep under their protection. The methods used are up to the discretion of the Spectre, but every ship is tracked leaving the larger ports to ensure that Spectres do not violate their jurisdiction. If a Spectre does so without permission of the Council, that Spectre is considered rogue, and will be hunted with extreme prejudice.

Thanks to this limit on Spectres, another element has risen up from the ashes, to do what must be done. Calling themselves The True Spectres, this group has essentially taken on the tasks of Spectres, when needed. Most of them have contact with a Spectre, and are used as a way to get around the loophole, essentially doing the Spectre's job off-planet. While they do not technically have the authority, and are seen as vigilantes by the Council, these people have protection under the Spectre they are tasked with helping, and that Spectre will protect them in any way necessary, if possible. Essentially, The True Spectres are a black ops group for the Spectres, but rather than disavow them if anything goes wrong, the Spectre will pull what strings they can to help out their allies.

Now that I've gotten the background out of the way, your character(s) will be a member of one of these three groups. There are no real requirements for being in each group. It's up to you to figure out which group you want your character(s) to be in, and I have no problem with people playing multiple characters.

Now, you may notice that while there is a lot of background, there isn't much of a mention of plot. There's a reason for that. I am the GM, and I will be participating in this RP. However, I want to encourage creativity in participants. For that reason, this RP will be more about creating a universe, with the plot being player-driven. I will give prompts to get a subplot kick-started, but beyond that, I wish for the story to unfold organically, without myself railroading along a set path.

This is a freeform RP. I do not really know many systems, and what systems I do know would have to take a good deal of effort to try to convert to a Mass Effect system, as well as familiarity I don't have. Therefore, any actions the characters take don't have to be rolled out, decided, or any of that. Just take the action, and the person reacting can do so in a natural way. I will step in if I see things getting out of hand, or if people start abusing the system and going God-Mode.

I do have some rules for this RP, naturally. First one is quite simple: no Mary Sues, or god moding. If you are a biotic, limit yourself to three powers. Same with engineers and tech abilities, or soldiers and weapons. If you wish to be a combination class, it's a combination of three. For example, if you wanted to play as a Vanguard, it would be two weapons and a power, or two powers and a weapon. You are allowed a pistol and one other weapon as "free" slots, not counting towards the rule of three, and melee weapons are free slots as well.

Second rule is: do not "assume" in combat, and always leave an out for a player. For example, saying "She shot [person] in the head, killing [person] instantly" is only acceptable if the person being shot had no way out of it, such as being unconscious or restrained. However, saying "She fired her weapon at [person]'s head," is acceptable, because that leaves an "out" for the player portraying the person, and doesn't take their action for them.

Third rule is: death may happen to characters, as this is a dark RP. That said, do not kill other players without their permission. If someone's character is killed, I will be asking that person if they gave permission. Until I get a response, that action is on hold. If they confirm that they did OK the death, the action goes through. If they deny that they OKed the death, then the action will be ignored. That will cause a pretty big headache for anyone re-reading the RP, so please be careful with this.

Final rule is: there are no hard limits for things not allowed in the RP. However, do keep in mind the limits other players have. They'll be listed on their character sheets, so there is no way to say "I didn't know they'd have a problem with that!" By the same token, if you do not list something on the character sheets as a limit, then you can't complain later if it gets brought up.

If you are still reading this, and awake and interested, I will be providing a sample character sheet in the next post (a sample character sheet that is also my main character, although I will play any NPCs necessary). That will give you some idea of what I need in a character sheet.

Description: (you can also have a picture, if you have one) Sera stands approximately 5 feet, 10 inches tall. Her environment suit is white, with black lines running down the side. She has a fairly slender figure, which her environment suit clings tightly to, revealing small breasts and a tight rear. Her visor is black, with her eyes just barely visible.

Background: Sera came to the Citadel 5 years ago, in order to complete her Pilgrimage. However, after sending some technology back to Rannoch, she found herself working as a mechanic for C-Sec. After 3 years, she got caught in the middle of a shoot-out. After a C-Sec officer's skycar was shot down, with the perpetrators fleeing the scene, she was sent in to repair it, believing that the criminals were gone for good. However, the trio came back, apparently planning to steal equipment from the skycar. A confrontation followed when Sera refused to surrender, leading to the shoot-out. She eventually emerged from the gunfight as the victor, having killed two criminals and wounded the third, but was shot herself twice in the process, with one bullet hitting her thigh and the other in the stomach.

Thanks to her heroic efforts, she was invited to become an officer, which she accepted, not even allowing her wounds to fully heal before starting duty. However, after a year, she got tired of the prejudices within the officer's ranks, with other officers constantly looking down on her under the impression that the position she had was simply a "reward for getting shot". Hearing about the True Spectres, Sera quit C-Sec, joining the group with the motivation to prove that the officers were wrong, and that her abilities would be a hindrance to criminals, rather than herself being a hindrance to her allies.

Notes: Thanks to her injury, which she never took the proper time to heal, she is unable to participate in extended chases on foot, thanks to the muscles in her left thigh never fully repairing themselves.

Question: Any chance you'd consider adding a single weapon skill/slot for everyone? Even in the first game most classes can use at least one weapon, and the New Game Plus options let any class use any weapon. By the third game, there's no restrictions on weapon type at all. I liked the first game's approach, where you could be a sniper Adept or assault rifle Sentinel if that was your thing; you didn't have to worry about weight versus power speed (which was kinda silly if you stop and think about it) but you did have to choose carefully what option would fit your playstyle. I think it'd encourage character diversity and interest if folks could pick up their favorite gun without worrying that they're giving up something important. Soldiers have abilities like Adrenaline Rush, Concussive Shot, and ammo and tech powers to fill out their primary slots.